Novel Weaves Stories of Famous Horse, Art, Science, Racism

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Reviewed by Linda Rowland, The Bowery Book Club, Winnsboro

Book description

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history.

Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack.

New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a 19th-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance.

Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a NigerianAmerican art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse — one studying the stallion’s bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success. Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.

As with many books I read, this was a book club selection, and not a book I might have chosen otherwise. This is one of the perks of book clubs, finding pleasure in reading where you might not expect it.

This is the story of a horse but much more than that. It is also the story of a painting and many of the people who have an interest in both. The character development is done well, making them real. It also describes the life of Lexington, an actual outstanding race horse of the 19th century, born just before the Civil War. His life and racing career — as well as the horse racing world of that time — is a well-told tale. The times from early on to the end of the book — the good and the not so good — are captured without gratuitous violence. The real world, however, is not sugar-coated here.

Geraldine Brooks’ writing style is enjoyable for the reader. In this book she opens the worlds of horse racing and art. We might have expected them to be at odds, but she weaves them together, along with bits of science. I always learn something from reading her books.

In this book, which starts in 1850, are story lines from that time and the mid 20th century, as well as the early 21st century. Each chapter is well noted with the character we are following and the date. Sometimes writers do not make that so clear and it is much appreciated when it is. This could have been three entertaining books but Brooks combines them into one cohesive story.

I did have a bit of trouble keeping up with the paintings. That could be my reading style since no one else at book club seemed to have the same issue. It did not keep me from enjoying the book.

Horse makes for a good book club discussion or just for reading pleasure. It led me to order Brooks’ Pulitzer Prize winning book, March